Good Stories are Powerful Lifelines.

It’s Valentine's Day and love is in the air, but it isn’t all chocolate and roses. Valentine’s Day can be a hard time for folks in the LGBTQ+ community. You’re sold a straight-focused idea of romance at every turn. For those of us whose love doesn’t read like a Hallmark card, these festivities can be a source of frustration and isolation.

For this blog, I’d like to discuss some resources you can use to practice intimacy in a safe and healthy way.

Love of all Kinds

Possibly the best quality of love is that, despite the media’s focus on heterosexuality, there are as many ways to express affection as there are people on Earth.

Everyone does relationships and intimacy differently, so let’s celebrate those differences by talking about sex ed!

No matter where you fall on the gender & sexuality spectrum, whether you’re kinky or not, monogamous or polyamorous, quality sexual education vital to any healthy relationship.

The State of Sex Ed

Some aspects of sexual health seem like common knowledge: birth control, informed consent, masturbation, and STI prevention. The truth is that knowledge you may take for granted is being suppressed in many public schools.

A recentstudy from the Guttmacher Institute shows that, in the last 20 years, fewer teens are being given comprehensive sex ed.

In 2013, at least 57% of adolescents in the U.S. didn’t receive any information about birth control before having sex for the first time, and abstinence-only sex ed is on the rise.

Resources for Teens & Young Adults

How can you be expected to make safe, healthy choices about your bodies and your relationships if you’re not being given the tools to understand them? If you plan on having sex, you may have to look outside your school or your parents for necessary information. Here are some resources you can use.

Scarleteen Logo

Scarleteen

Scarleteen is an organization that’s been providing sexuality & relationship education for over 20 years. They are committed to diversity and queer inclusivity and offer a wide variety of educational services.

Sex etc. logo

Sex, etc.

Sex, etc. is written by teens, for teens, with many queer-inclusive resources.

Planned Parenthood Logo

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is well-known, but still worth mentioning.This organization stands at the forefront of advocacy for accessible reproductive healthcare, education, and a variety of services that aren’t strictly medical in nature.

ICYC logo

ICYC

ICYC (In Case You’re Curious) is a text-based chat service that can give you quick, confidential answers to questions you may have about sexual health. Currently, ICYC serves Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nevada.

Adult-Focused Resources

Even if you got better than average sex ed in school, it more than likely neglected issues particular to the LGBT+ community. For adult audiences, there are still resources that dig deeper into topics such as disability and sexual health, kink, polyamory, and more.

Queer sex ed logo

Queer Sex Ed

Queer sex ed is devoted to exploring healthy, fun sex outside the box, including explorations into the broad range of forms desire can take, consensual kink, and navigating asexuality/aromanticism in relationships.

Cover of Veaux's book, "More than two"

More Than Two

Franklin Veaux’s More Than Two discusses all the ins and outs of polyamory, and how to ensure the needs and desires of every participant are being addressed.

And for people of all ages. RESCQU.NET!

And For People of All Ages, RESCQU!

Want more on queer sex ed? RESCQU.NET is building adatabase of LGBTQ+ and queer-friendly organizations, including many of those referenced in this article (and more!)